The Mormon Faith: A Case Study

Allen’s Difference Matters book she explains the importance of labeling. “What a group is called and how it is described by other groups, particularly those in power, plays an important role in social relations, because these labels usually are not neutral”(Brenda J. Allen). People make labels that either have positive or a negative connotation. People establish positive labels on one another in order to reiterate their own social identities. For example, if a person meets someone who has the same qualities or ideologies as them, they might label that person as cool. People meet other people in order to find themselves. People unintentionally look for other people with the same ideologies. If that person finds somebody with those same ideologies that are just like theirs, then that’s where the positive connotation originates from. Negative labels come from people who interact with other people who have different ideologies than them. “Most often, dominant groups define these names/labels to establish and maintain hierarchy” (Allen 27). When people make those negative labels they do that in order to gain power over the people or group that are different from

As soon as children are born, their journey through losing their personal identity begins. They are given names like Equality, Liberty, or Union, names that at first glance seem to cause no harm. The rulers give these names in an attempt to showcase the positive outcomes of collectivism. In

The Mormon Church teaches that technology is a necessary evil. They teach that, while vital for communication and occupations, cell phones and the internet posses a massive destructive capability and, thus, their use should be limited. Mormons view the destruction as ethical or religious: stumbling onto pornography or an "anti-Mormon" website. I have somewhat adopted the overarching viewpoint, but with different justifications. I went a week without screens over my freshman year, and realized a sense of clarity comparable to when I first got contacts; in both instances I gained an appreciation for previously overlooked details. Crisp breezes, real conversations, environmental exploration, these treasures were previously muddled down by constant

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints claim that they have 6.1 million members in the United States. Mormons make up 1.7% of the population in the United States. This makes it the fourth largest major religious group in the country with the vast majority of Mormons living in Utah, making up 58% of the state’s population. According to a study by the Pew Research Center Mormons, as a group, “are among the most devout and conservative religious people in the country.” The Mormons are well known for not only the two-year mission that all Mormon young adults are required to go on but also there lifestyle that keeps caffeine and other altering chemicals out of their body. Utah, the state founded by early Latter-day Saints, has the

Joseph Smith established the church of Jesus Christ (Mormon Church) in the 1830, New York. It was established due to a lack of churches that wasn’t organized by Jesus Christ (Bushman, 517-18). The church has been growing larger since then, with 6 million members in the U.S. and 14 million members worldwide (Lyon, 622). Mormonism has been known for having different values and norms compared to other Americans, the ones that seemed most interesting and different were their lifestyle choices, and their views on polygamy.

A fascinating and difficult issue has emerged from a uniquely Mormon practice that stems from a religious fascination with genealogy. In fact, if a Mormon visits Salt Lake City, they are able to take advantage of a vast genealogical research facility at no cost.

Labels... what are they? They allow us to know what everything is. That’s a pencil, a paper, a person, black, white. However, there are also hidden labels. These labels hide within the the first labels and are made by us to associate something or someone with a thought. These hidden labels are called stereotypes. Stereotypes are thoughts people have about a certain group or person solely based on that group’s or person’s past. “

Mormons consider themselves either the Latter-day Saints, Saints, or Mormon. The term Mormons refers to members of the LDS Church because of their belief in the Book of Mormon.

The church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) or more commonly referred to as the ‘Mormon church’ was one of the later founded religions that continues to be practiced today. Mormons believe that after Jesus was crucified he resurrected in America to speak to the native Indians who they believed descended from the Israelites. This took place during a civil war between the Nephites and the native Indians in upstate new york. Mormon recoded the event on golden plates and gave them to his son Moroni, the last Nephite, and he buried them on a hill. Joseph Smith dug up these plates in 1820 and these became The Book of Mormon (see appendix 4). Joseph was told by God to spread the religion because the church had been corrupted and thus, the

The Mormon Church, formally called the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, was founded on the belief that the church established by Jesus Christ did not survive and was saved in modern times through a prophet Joseph Smith.

One of many special experiences has to be My LDS Mission, I am currently serving in The California Modesto Mission as a Spanish Missionary from December 03, 2015 to December 06, 2017. My Mission experience is one of the most unique experiences i have ever encountered. I knew the language but my knowledge to the Restored gospel was not too convening. There were many times i felt worthless and no need for my stay in the Mission field as i knew there was many who can replace my position. This experience has to be one of my most valuable teachings i am learning during my stay in my Mission.

The Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints are a sect of the LDS church and one that I would consider deviant. A sect is used as a “contradistinction to the type 'denomi –nation ' which itself is distinguished from the type 'church” (Hampshire and Beckford, pg. 232) In regard to the FLDS sect of Latter Day Saints, the “profit” or head of the sect creates an environment that attempts to utilize familiar ideology as a foundation, yet perverts or distorts portions of the original ideology to fit its purpose. The sect then creates its own hierarchy of power and rules and utilizes the new “norms” as the fundamental values of their society. Sociologists believe that once the individuals of the sect are conforming and forsaking the teachings of their past, then the sect leader has created a new denomination and thus a society where the new norms are ideal.

I know that groups come in all shapes and sizes. For children, some of these

There are billions of people on the earth, so to navigate the social world some labels are necessary. Putting people into groups such

The book, The Dynamics of Intergroup Communication, describes a group as “a collection of people who have